Christmas Blog that is Real Nice Clark!

Christmas time is officially here and with just a couple of more days to go, I am hoping you guys are done with your Christmas shopping! I, for one, have not started yet. It is the “guy” in me I guess. I will probably run out this afternoon and get some gifts but I am in no hurry. 🙂 A funny thing about Christmas is how everyone has their own routines. Many of them are what we have been doing since we were little kids.

For me, number one thing, I have to have a real Christmas tree. Without this, it will not feel like Christmas. And for those of you with fake trees and “Christmas tree” candles, it is not the same. No matter how much you tell yourself, it is not the same! Also, if I don’t watch Christmas Vacation, it wouldn’t be Christmas. My mom still cries from laughing so hard when we watch it. We’ve watched it every Christmas Eve for the last 10 years or so.

The one thing that IS different for me this year is the appreciation I have for our soldiers overseas. Writing some of these blogs (Medal of Honor / Honoring our heroes of Patriot Day, etc.) has given me a chance to really look at the sacrifices that many people make each and every day to protect this great country. Many of these soldiers are young men and women out of high school who are giving up or postponing college and their lives to defend this great country and our rights. Their families have to deal with them going out on their own in frightening far away towns and cities with the fear that they might not make it back.

For me, I have often overlooked these sacrifices and go about my own agenda but I am asking everyone reading this blog to take a moment before the end of the year and give thanks for this great nation and our military. Appreciate your time with friends and family, delicious food and snacks, and all of the many activities that accompanies our Holiday season. Try to remember these soldiers and if you can, send out a letter or one of the thousands of items that are needed (boots, food, snacks, etc.). Anysoldier.com is a great site that sends your letters to a soldier overseas. I encourage you to check the site out and donate anything you can, even if it is just an uplifting story. Everything helps.

FlagExpressions.com wishes everyone a safe and wonderful Holiday season filled with many memories and stories. Enjoy your time to relax and break from the real world. Say hello to old friends and give thanks for all of your gifts. We thank all of our customers  and soon to be customers 🙂 for a wonderful year and we look forward to 2010 with high hopes and many new things to come your way.

Please feel free to respond to this blog with any and all comments or suggestions.

FlagExpressions’ BCS Bowl Game Predictions

I am sad to say that we are coming to the end of the college football season…my favorite sporting season of the year. On top of that, my NC State Wolfpack didn’t even make a bowl this year. I mean there are what, like 33 bowl games? Come on guys. Not even the Roady’s Truck Stops Humanitarian Bowl? (That is a serious bowl game by the way) However, since we did beat UNC in the last game of the year, I can’t complain too much.

Before getting into the bowl games though, can I just pose a question…WHY WHY WHY are we not doing a playoff system? It is the last major (college and/or professional) sporting venue that is not doing a playoff system and we rely on computer systems to help choose how the bowls will stack up. Yes, computers might be less biased but it also will take into effect teams running up the scores against Charleston Southern (hint: Florida Gators). It is time…no… it is very past time to do a playoff system.

End Rant.

Even though I am sad about the season being over, I do have the BCS bowl games to look forward to. With the selections this past weekend, here is the breakdown of the 5 major bowls:

1. BCS Championship: Alabama (13-0) vs. Texas (13-0)
2. Orange Bowl: Georgia Tech (11-2) vs. Iowa (10-2)
3. Sugar Bowl: Florida (12-1) vs. Cincinnati (12-0)
4. Fiesta Bowl: TCU (12-0) vs. Boise State (13-0)
5. Rose Bowl: Oregon (10-2) vs. Ohio State (10-2)

We will look at the Rose Bowl first. I have watched Oregon play a few games this year, from the drama surrounding the first game of the season against Boise State…to the last minute win against Oregon State in the Civil War bowl. They have looked great and Jeremiah Masoli (Oregon quarterback) has looked as good as any as a double threat quarterback in the nation and with LeGarrette Blount again in the backfield, their offense is one of the most exciting in all of the country. Ohio State has been a very dominant team in the last 10 years but unless Terrelle Pryor comes out firing on all cylinders, I don’t see them being able to match Oregon’s offense for four quarters.

My Prediction: Oregon again punches someone in the face…this time it is THE Ohio State University though.

The Fiesta Bowl should be a great game, but both teams were hoping for higher bowl bids. TCU and Boise State both went undefeated during the year but let’s be honest, if they were playing in the SEC or Pac-10 or ACC, who really believes they would be undefeated? Okay so they could probably run the table in the ACC but… . I look for TCU to take this game on the back of one of the best defenses in the nation.

My Prediction: Boise State gives TCU a run for the money, but TCU pulls it off in the end.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Prediction #2: Fans watching this game: 38

The Sugar Bowl features a great matchup between Florida and Cincinnatti. This will be one of the more exciting games of the postseason for me. Florida, being #1 through the whole year decided not to show up against an excellent Alabama team in the SEC championship and looks to regain momentum. At the same time, Cincinnatti lost Brian Kelly, their head coach, to Notre Dame and will not be coaching the bowl game. Despite Tony Pike and a great Cincinnatti offense, I see Florida coming in hungry following a lackluster SEC title game and the finale of possibly the greatest college quarterback of all time…Tim Tebow. Don’t get me wrong, I am all of an underdog, but remembering the Georgia vs. Hawaii game by my all-time favorite quarterback Colt Brennan, I can only believe so much hype. I think it will be a close first half, but the second half my get ugly. Rooting for Cincinnati but expecting Florida to run the show.

My Prediction: Florida by 21.

The Orange Bowl is next. Hey, here is the ACC…thanks for showing up guys. This looks to be one of the most interesting matchups in the BCS matchups. Georgia Tech, a dominant running team who runs the option better than any team in the nation, is a triple threat offense every time the ball is snapped. Iowa, a defensive force throughout the nation, has allowed less than 12 points a game all season. Games like this will be based on field position and ball control. I haven’t seen Iowa play that much this year and being an ACC boy, this comes as a totally biased opinion but I have to give the victory to Georgia Tech in a low scoring game.

My Prediction: I’ll be regretting my prediction.

Finally we come to the BCS Championship game between Alabama and Texas. Sure to be a major scoring affair, I have become very impressed with Alabama as of late. They took down Florida, the then #1 team, in the SEC championship game on the back of Mark Ingram who scored 3 touchdowns and Alabama finished with nearly 200 yards rushing total. Texas looked lackluster in their win against Nebraska and Colt McCoy, one of the best players in the nation nearly scrambled enough time off the clock to lose the game. I haven’t believed the Texas hype all year. I am going with Alabama and the newly appointed Heisman Trophy Winner in this game, but if Texas can come out firing like they did earlier in the year, it should be a good game. Look for Ingram to rush for 3 more scores to finish one of the best rushing seasons of all time.

My Prediction: Alabama by 3.                                                                                                                                                        Prediction #2: Mark Ingram will need to see a chiropractor after carrying this team for the whole season.

There are two things to look forward to at this point: Bowl games and next year. So for all of the armchair quarterbacks, we need to enjoy the next few weeks, because it will all soon be gone.

If you are needing an NCAA flag/car flag for your home, garden, party, or flagpole, we have a great selection at flagexpressions.com.

Good luck to all teams participating in the bowl games!